Mop head construction



Nov. 27, 1962 J. THIBAULT 3,065,484

MOP yHEAD CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 2o, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS Nov. 27, 1962 J. THIBAULT MOP HEAD CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 20, 1959 ArToRNn/ United States Patent C annalisa MOP HEAD QNSTRUCTEGN Joseph Thibault, R0. Box 363, Kenogami, Quebec, @amada Filed Nov. Ztl, 1959, Ser. No. 854,330 3 Claims. (Cl. 15m2Zl) The invention relates to household iloor cleaning devices in which a single handle may accommodate a plurality of interchangeable cleaning elements such as a broom, a wet or a dry floor mop.

An object of the present invention is to provide a device of this character wherein the various elements may be quickly and easily detached from the handle either for cleaning or for replacing by another element for a different type of cleaning operation.

In the case of wet mops, they usually consist -of a bunch of cotton strands tied together at the centre by a string or wire. Some of the prior art constructions make use of this string to attach the mop head to the handle portion of the mop. For example, it has been proposed to retain the mop head on the handle by means of hooks which engage the string and are forced upwardly into the handle, by a screw arrangement, in order to tighten the mop head against the mop handle. The strings or wires with which the cotton strands of the mophead are held together are, however, usually somewhat fragile, and are easily broken, especially if they are stressed by the hooks.

In certain other conventional wet mop head retaining devices the bunch of cotton strands is surrounded by a yoke or ring, iixed to the handle and means are provided to tighten Vthe mop head against the yoke or ring. Such devices are not commercially acceptable because it is somewhat diicult to insert the mop head into the yoke or ring and the tightening devices are exposed and are subject to corrosion.

The present invention makes use of conventional mop and broom heads, and relates specilically to the provision of improved retaining means. According7 to the invention there is provided a U-shaped yoke, which may be easily inserted over a wet or dry mop head of the conventional type or may be built-in into a broom head, this yoke is then hooked to a nut threadedly engaging a screw fixed tothe handle. A sleeve, which is rotatably mounted on the end of the handle, surrounds the screw, and abuts the mop head, when the handle is rotated, so as to pull the nut and the yoke hooked thereto, upwardly into the sleeve.

It will be seen that with such a construction, the assembly operation is greatly facilitated, the mop head is firmly and securely held on the handle, and the mechanical parts are hidden in and protected by the sleeve.

An embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 isa general perspective view of a wet mop with the mop head assembled on the handle;

FIGURE 2 is an axial section of the wet mop showing the various parts of the assembly of the said mop;

FIGURE 3 is an exploded perspective view of the cop this invention, it is shown for example, at A in FIGURES l and 2, and consists of a bunch of cotton strands. In FIGURE 2, these strands are held together by a U-shaped yoke d'7.

With reference to FIGURE 3, the wooden handle 10 is formed at the end with a portion 1I of decreased cross section. A screw I2 extends coaxially with the handle from the end thereof and is rigidly secured to the wooden handle. A nut 13 threadedly engages the screw 12; the nut 113 is shaped as a thick round plate, and has two diametrically opposite holes 14.

A sleeve d5 tits on the handle portion Ill, and has its outer diameter equal `to the diameter of the handle itl. The outer end 16 of sleeve f15 is flared.

Also shown in FIGURE 3 is a yoke 17, of U-shape, the free ends of the legs of the yoke being hooked at 18, and having projections i9 on the legs, adjacent the ends. The cross-section of the metal rod out of which the yoke I7 is made, is somewhat smaller than the size of holes i4 of the nut y11i.

FIGURE 2 shows in section a partially completed assembly of all the elements necessary for a wet mop according to the invention. The sequence for completing such an assembly is as follows:

The yoke 17 is inserted over the central port-ion of the mop A, folding over one another the two halves of the mop.

The hooks 18 are then inserted into the holes vI-/l' with a turning motion, until the yoke 17 extends in a plane parallel to the axis of the handle.

rThe yoke 17 is pushed in as far as the projections I9 will allow.

Subsequently the handle It! is rotated, thus pulling the nut :I3 inwardly until the flared portion 16 of the sleeve 15 abuts the mop A. Rotation of the handle 19 is then continued until the mop is tightly secured against the sleeve I5.

V/hen it is desired to remove the mop head, `the procedure to be followed is exactly the reverse of the above described assembly procedure.

An interchangeable dry mop head which is also part of this invention, is shown in FIGUR-E 4 and consists of a bunch of short cotton strands B held together by a strong two layer piece of cloth. The top layer of cloth 2l has two holes 2@ provided in the middle, and which are of such dimensions as to allow a free passage of the U-shaped yoke I7.

As shown in FIGURE 5, the bottom layer of cloth 23, which actually holds the cotton strands together, is provided with a strip of cloth 22 sewn -to its within the middle space of the holes 2t) and inbetween the layers 2l and 23.

The bottom part of the U-shaped yoke passes between the strip Z2 and the bottom layer of cloth 23, the yoke is thus firmly held in the required position. Although the yoke can be removed and replaced whenever necessary, if desired it may be'left there permanently. In such case the whole changing operation will consist in simply removing the handle.

In the case of the broom head C shown FIGURES 6 and 7, the upper part of the broom head 24 is permanently built around the U-shaped yoke -`Zll. A small rigid bar 25, inserted in the broom head between the sides and at the bottom of the yoke 17 helps to keep the stability of the yoke.

When the yoke is in position, the procedure of inserting it into the handle becomes in each case exactly similar to the procedure described above for the wet mop.

The embodiment of the invention `which has been illustrated and described is given merely by way of example and various modifications thereof are possible within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A door cleaning device comprising: a handle having one end of reduced diameter providing a radial abutment; a sleeve co-axial With said handle and having one end rotatably mounted onto the reduced diameter end Of said handle and abutting said radial abutment; the other end of said sleeve projecting outwardly and axially aWay from said handle; a threaded member fixed to said handle, co-axial with and projecting into said sleeve; a cleaning head wider than said other end of said sleeve; a U-shaped yoke having legs joined at one end and bent in the same direction at the other end; said cleaning head being mounted at the joined ends of said yoke; a nut; spaced apertures through said nut, the free ends of said legs extending through said apertures with the bent ends thereof lying over said nut; said nut being freely received into said sleeve and screwed onto said threaded member to permit relative displacement between said sleeve and head and allow the latter to be pressed against the former.

2. A iioor cleaning device comprising: a handle having one end of reduced -diameter providing a radial abutment; a sleeve co-axial with said handle and having one end rotatably mounted onto the reduced diameter end of said handle and abutting said radial abutment; the other end of said sleeve projecting outwardly and axially away from said handle; a threaded member iixed to said handle, co-aXial :with and projecting into said sleeve; a cleaning head wider than said other end of said sleeve; said head being constituted by a plurality of strands folded substantially above the center thereof; a U-shaped yoke having a central portion, received within the central folds of the strands, and substantially parallel legs the free ends of which are-bent in the same direction; a nut;

spaced apertures through said nut; the free ends of said l into said sleeve and screwed onto said threaded member to permit relative displacement between said sleeve and head with the head abutting the other end of said sleeve.

3. A floor cleaning device comprising: a handle having one end of reduced diameter providing a radial abutment; a substantially conical sleeve co-axial with said handle and having the smaller end thereof rotatably mounted onto the reduced diameter end of said handle and abutting said radial abutment; a threaded member xed to said handle, co-axial With and projecting into said sleeve; a cleaning head wider than Said other end of said sleeve; said head being constituted by a plurality of strands folded substantially about the center thereof; a LJ-shaped yoke having a central portion, received Within the central folds ofthe strands, and substantially parallel legs the free ends of which are bent in the same direction; a nut; spaced apertures through said nut; the free ends of said legs extending through said apertures with the bent ends thereof lying over said nut; said nut being freely received into said sleeve and screwed onto said threaded member to permit relative displacement between said sleeve and head with the head abutting the larger end of said sleeve.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,187,082 Mueller June 13, 1916 1,633,830 Sturgis June 28, 1927 2,650,382 Ballinger Sept. l, 1953 2,739,333 Harris Mar. 27, 1956` 2,870,473 Schwartz Ian. 27, 1959 2,902,704 Schwartz Sept. 8, 1959 FOREGN PATENTS 122,891 Great Britain Feb. 5, 1918 664,834 France Apr. 29, 1929 690,029 Great Britain Apr. 8, 1953 

